Patriots ‘tip’ scales in win

October 7, 2011

MARTINSBURG - The Washington Patriots used great serving and adjusted to the opposing defense to topple the Martinsburg Bulldogs in a 25-22, 25-21, 25-22 sweep at Martinsburg Fieldhouse Thursday night.

"I was pleased with the serving and hitting today," Patriots coach Ian Hillman said. "Our hitters were able to adapt to their good blocking as we scored a lot of points by tipping over the block."

The Bulldogs and Patriots combined for 19 ties in the entire three-set match, eight of which were in the first set.

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After exchanging points for the first eight serves of the game to tie the set at four, Washington gained some separation on serves from Alycia Lambert including a block by Elizabeata Lienhard and a kill by Rebecca Walls to give the Patriots an 8-4 lead before the Patriots touched the ball on a spike to turn serve over to Martinsburg.

Keisha Nunn tied the game at 8 apiece -the fifth tie in the set - on a service run of her own before she served one out of bounds.

The Patriots and Bulldogs tied at 11, 14, and 16, respectively, before two tap-in points by Kelsey Lineburg gave Washington a 1-0 lead in the match.

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The teams tied seven times in the second set before the Pats won the set 25-21.

As both sides exchanged scores to start the set with a 4-4 tie, Felicia Hall served Martinsburg to a 10-4 lead before losing serve on a kill by Lienhard.

Washington and Martinsburg tied the set at 13 on a kill by Karli Boober before the set was tied at 15 on a miscue by Martinsburg. A four hit violation by Washington tied the set for the seventh time at 19 points apiece before two aces by Lineburg and a service point by Lienhard gave the Patriots a two-set lead.

Martinsburg tried to regain mental composure in the third set, but fell short as Washington completed the sweep.

"When we were down 0-2, I asked them to go out and forget about it and just play in the third set," Bulldogs coach Wes Hall said.

"We served pretty well in all three sets, but everything else was bad."

Lineburg led Washington off to a fast start in the closing set, turning a 1-1 tie into a 6-1 lead before losing serve on a kill by Boober.

Washington continued to serve for at least one point at a time to increase their lead to 12-6 before Essence Underwood made a four-serve run to cut the lead to two points before losing serve.

After a spike was tipped by the Patriots, Alexus Bonnor served the Bulldogs to a 16-14 lead before a set that came up too long for Boober gave the Patriots the ball back.

Kayla Bearns and Boober each added a pair of kills before Washington tied the set up at 19. Walls added a three point run and Lineburg tapped the final point of the set in to give the Patriots the victory.

The Patriots kept focus on taking the set one point at a time rather than focusing on the the entire set when the score was tied.

"When the set is tied 18-18, we focus on the getting the 19th point before getting the 25th point," Hillman said.

"We focus on one little job rather than the big picture."

Boober led the Bulldogs with nine kills, while Felicia Hall had 19 digs. Brittany Rimmer added four kills, 15 digs and a pair of blocks for Martinsburg. Lineburg led the Patriots with nine kills and six aces, while Walls added nine kills and three aces. Amber Curry added nine digs for the Patriots.